The Internet of Things (IoT) inspires new ways of thinking about how we work with and share information. And now enterprises are getting ready to intelligently consume IoT’s large data streams in real time. To help with this, Esri Inc. is working with Microsoft Corporation to integrate location services and spatial analytics to the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite.

“Location is fundamental to realizing value in being connected,” said Chris Cappelli, Global Business Development, Esri. “There can be no IoT without understanding the physical and spatial context of the machines it consists of. The common language of geography unlocks the value in IoT data streams.”

The Esri and Microsoft collaboration will rapidly enable IoT scenarios by offering customers and partners a set of highly capable platform services as ready-to-use, preconfigured solutions. This forthcoming integrated offering is the next step in Microsoft’s and Esri’s long-standing alliance to spatially enable the enterprise.

Smart city concepts and innovations in the automotive industry are examples of how data from many sources increases understanding. Governments and businesses use that data to improve safety features, reduce air pollution, and mitigate traffic congestion.

“The Azure IoT Suite enables customers to rapidly deploy pre-configured solutions that scale to millions of devices and help them realize business value from IoT,” said Sam George, partner director of Azure Internet of Things, Microsoft. “Our collaboration with Esri will extend the Azure IoT Suite to include rich location and geo-spatial services, which are critical in the world of IoT.”

Esri and Microsoft look forward to building on their collaboration to deliver IoT offerings as the market advances.